The Power of Conversation
My conversation with Marcus Luther from The Broken Copier Podcast
A telltale sign of a good conversation is how I feel immediately afterward. If I come away feeling exposed and nervous, it wasn’t meaningful. It might be because we disagreed or maybe we didn’t connect with each other. However, when I walk away from a conversation feeling buoyant, I’m confident that I really connected with the other person. It is almost euphoric because I feel like I received as much as I gave.
I get a special feeling during a meaningful conversation with someone new. Time seems to slow and I find that instead of half-listening, ready to share my own thoughts, I’m actively listening, asking questions, and empathizing. Soon, we ease into a free-flowing back-and-forth sympatico. Comfortable dialogue is a powerful human connector. When I feel comfortable, I concentrate my engagement. As Dr. Brené Brown says, “we are hardwired for connection, curiosity, and engagement.” I felt all three recently during my time on
with .
I had the pleasure of chatting with
on his podcast . This podcast is a collaborative effort with . Jim and Marcus are both veteran high school English teachers who started The Broken Copier to have “healthy, authentic, and honest conversations about teaching.” This is exactly how I felt during my chat with Marcus. We discussed teaching pre and post pandemic, leaving the classroom to coach, how I gauge my students’ experience, impactful teachers in my life, The Breakfast Club, and my most recent (and very challenging) school year.
I joined social media ten years ago because I was feeling isolated in my classroom. I wanted to connect with other teachers, share resources, and chat about what we were doing in our classrooms. Today, I feel that Substack has become that place. Whether you are a new subscriber, or you’ve been reading from the beginning, I feel connected to the community we are creating together. I hope that you all enjoy listening to the conversation I had with Marcus. If you have any questions about any of the topics we discussed, please reach out. I’d love to connect with you and grow this community.
Have a great week!
—Adrian
Resources
I highly recommend you subscribe to
’s and ’ Substack and podcast. There are some incredible archived interviews and posts that will give you plenty of ideas for things to try in your classroom.
I’m a huge fan of Dr. Brené Brown (does that make me a Brownie?). In this 60 Minutes interview, Brown discusses the importance of vulnerability and the difference between being vulnerable and over-sharing.
How to Nurse an Oversharing Hangover | The New York Times
In case you need some help with a conversation that didn’t go so well, this article has some excellent tips.
The art of meaningful conversation | TED Talks
This is a playlist of different TED Talks regarding conversation and connection. I recommend you start with Celeste Headlee’s 10 ways to have a better conversation, then listen to Clint Smith’s The danger of silence, and finally, end with Dr. Brené Brown’s famous talk, The power of vulnerability